Revere Ristorante Italiano in Ewing has developed a loyal following among customers who remember Trenton's Chambersburg neighborhood in its heyday.Martin Griff/The Times

Step inside the cool, darkened interior of Revere Ristorante Italiano in Ewing, and hear the crooning melodies of Dean Martin on the sound system.

While much of Trenton’s Chambersburg has changed from the days when it was a mecca for great Italian food, a few of the old restaurants remain, with pockets of those memories found elsewhere.

Revere, where owner Joe Derrico has been in charge for 18 years, is one of those restaurants. There he pays homage to the restaurant’s founders, Peter and Lou Immordino, and to the Chambersburg legacy by offering dishes much like those found in the city’s past.

“I started here in 1985 as a busboy,” says Derrico, who learned to cook from the Immordino brothers while he was growing up in Chambersburg.

Many of the dishes remain the same, although he has tweaked some to suit himself and his customers. He keeps the menu fresh with seasonal specials.

All of that suits his customers, who include second and third generations coming back for his signature dish, pollo alla erbe, $17.95, which is seasoned pieces of bone-in chicken served on a sizzling platter and finished with a balsamic reduction.

One bite and you know why this recipe is one that customers come back for. Meat cooked on the bone retains more flavor, and this dish is no exception. Moist and tender, the chicken pieces have the warm tang of the balsamic reduction, which adds to the hearty chicken flavor. The flavors of accompanying mashed potatoes and vegetables pale in comparison to the chicken, which is one of the best poultry dishes we have found. Derrico says that after all these years, he still eats this chicken dish at least once a week, which is understandable.

We also ordered homemade cannelloni, $15.95, which were pasta tubes stuffed with a mixture of creamy cheeses, ground meat and spinach. Topped with the thick, chunky house tomato sauce, they were old-fashioned and filling.

An order of rigatoni Bolognese, $15.95, was a heaping plateful of pasta cooked to a perfect bite and topped with thick, meaty sauce. Rich with flavor, this was another old-fashioned, filling dish.

A mozzarella vodka appetizer, $8.95, was a delightful selection, with four mozzarella balls breaded and fried, then topped with more of the house tomato sauce. Served with a side of pasta, this dish would succeed as a filling, flavorful vegetarian entrée.

Soup or salad comes with each entrée, and we tried both the house salad and the soup of the day, which was chicken with rice. Both were fine, but were overshadowed by the entrees.

Desserts are made in-house at Revere, and the standard-issue cannoli, $4, are good, but the cream cake, $6.50, is much better. Light and airy, it comes with a cream topping and a pool of custard on the plate.

Derrico learned the restaurant business the old-fashioned way, and he follows those practices to this day. He still shops for vegetables at the Trenton Farmers Market in Lawrence in season, and he still makes the old-fashioned sauces the way he was taught by the masters.

While he has other interests, including a new restaurant in Florence, he is firmly entrenched in the comforting setting and foods of Revere.

“I can’t quit this business; it’s in my blood,” he says.

So despite the passage of time elsewhere, his restaurant will continue to play the songs and serve the rich flavors of Chambersburg.